President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said employees of electronics companies that have been hit by the global recession could pay their employees half the minimum wage instead of laying them off for a period of six months until the electronics sector recovers.

The Philippine economy's ability to avoid the contagion of the global economic crisis has been eroded by its dependence on exports, but income remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) may mitigate this, according to a United Nations report.

Officials of Filinvest Land Inc., the first company to close a deal at the South Road Properties (SRP) went to City Hall yesterday to express worry over the recent pronouncements made by the Provincial Government against their P25 billion project.

Mayor Tomas Osmeña yesterday said the revenue collections of the City Traffic Operations Management (CITOM) had dropped so much in the past months because Vice Mayor Michael Rama has been very lenient on his job, particularly in giving adjudication to traffic fines. TRAFFIC fines dropped by as much as 95 percent in recent months and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña blames Vice Mayor Michael Rama for it.

THE Cebu City public library will neither be closed nor transferred. Mayor Tomas Osmeña's assurance came amid reports that the library will either be closed or transferred. Among the reasons raised for its possible transfer is the facility's lack of a parking space.

Citing the safety of its three abducted workers, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Thursday asked the government to consider accommodating the demand of the Abu Sayyaf to reposition government troops.

The military will be forced to conduct rescue operations for the abducted members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) if the Abu Sayyaf pushes through with their plan to behead the victims.

The Manila Police District (MPD) is filing criminal charges against the militant women's group Gabriela for allegedly using minors in its rallies and for persistently staging demonstrations at the US Embassy which has been declared a "no-rally" zone, an official said.

A migrant and anti-human smuggling group called on the government on Thursday to take serious steps in addressing the illegal recruitment and trafficking of Filipino women to Malaysia where they have been made to work as modern-day slaves.

ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp., the Philippines' largest media company, has partnered with five of southeast Asia's top broadcasters to form a media alliance that aims to collaborate on content, sales and marketing, and technology.

President Barack Obama fielded questions on jobs, the auto industry, universal health care, mortgages, education, veterans' care and legalization of marijuana as he kicked off a first-of-its-kind Internet era Town Hall at the White House.

Although WBO superbantamweight champion Juan Manuel Lopez is unbeaten and boasts an intimidating record of 24-0, with 22 KOs, challenger Gerry Peñalosa said the other day he's confident of wresting the crown when they face off at the Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, on April 25.

Purefoods snapped a three-game losing streak in style Thursday night, turning back Coca-Cola and James Penny, 89-80, in the eliminations of the Motolite PBA Fiesta Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

The Ramon Fernandez Basketball Academy (RFBA), headed by Ramon "El Presidente" Fernandez, will be conducting the "Walk Tall With Basketball" clinics from April 23 to May 1 at the Capitol Parish Gym along Escario street in Cebu City.

Kobe Bryant's former housekeeper is suing the NBA star and his wife, contending she was "harassed and humiliated," denied health insurance and forced to quit because of "intolerable" working conditions. In one instance, Maria Jimenez says Bryant's wife ordered her to put her hand in a container of dog waste to retrieve the price tag of a blouse.

Jimenez filed the lawsuit on Friday in Orange County Superior Court. She says in court papers that Vanessa Bryant "badgered, harassed and humiliated" her in front of Bryant, the couple's children and others. She said the couple failed to provide health coverage, as promised when she was hired. She said she didn't learn she didn't have it until she became ill and sought medical attention.

The Cebu City government will no longer push through with its threat to file criminal charges against a concert promoter after he paid P150,000 as advance payment for his amusement tax obligations to the city. Ferdinand Bantilan's tax dues stemmed from the holding of the "Diva 2 Concert," which he promoted, at the Waterfront Hotel Cebu City Hotel and Casino last January 12.

Kapamilya Deal Or No Deal (KDOND), hosted by Kris Aquino, is calling it a day with tonight's edition with Cesar Montano and Edu Manzano (who took over from Kris as host of Pilipinas, Game Ka Na Ba?, the other ABS-CBN game show) as guest contestants. But Kris will resurface on Monday, March 30, as host of the new ABS-CBN daily (Monday thru Friday) game show Pinoy Bingo.

Joining Kris are Brod Pete as the "bingo caller" and Mel Feliciano as the "commissioner." Mel was the former choreographer of the '90s dance group Solid Gold Dancers and now the floor manager for DOND and The Singing Bee(another ABS-CBN game show hosted by Cesar Montano).

Pinoy Bingo Night is the Philippine version of America'sNational Bingo Night. Some 402 studio players vie for over P2-M every night while home viewers also get a chance to win. A lucky televiewer will win an instant prize daily.

Actress Rio Locsin shared his excitement with ABS-CBN's television adaptation of her 1978 hit movie Kambal sa Uma (Twins on the Farm). Locsin, who is not a newbie in portraying a mother, said that she is also happy to be playing a mother for the shows' lead stars - young actresses Melissa Ricks and Shaina Magdayao.

In the "Kambal sa Uma" movie, Locsin played the role of Ella (a half-human half-rat), the daughter of Milagros while in the TV series, Locsin will play the role of Milagros, the mother of Ella.

A Cebu Pacific flight bound for Zamboanga was delayed Wednesday after the crew discovered that a couple had smuggled their two children onboard the plane by hiding them under the mother's dress. During last-minute inspections on Cebu Pacific flight 5J855 from Manila to Zamboanga, airline crew discovered that passengers Yasser and Julfa Jalang had smuggled their two children, Jabshi, 6, and Monhamir, 7, onto the plane.

The children were reportedly caught hiding among their parents' hand-carry baggage by a flight attendant who noticed something moving below the Jalang couple's seats and saw one of the children's feet sticking out from among the bags.

The airplane, which had already been taxiing toward the runway, had to go back to the terminal and drop off all passengers so authorities could sort out the problem. The incident reportedly caused the flight to be delayed for almost an hour.

The children allegedly may have passed through airport security undetected because Julfa hid them under her large Muslim dress.

According to Cebu Pacific, the two children were carrying tickets for an earlier flight. Airline authorities said the parents may have had a hard time re-booking the flight, and so decided to bring their children along with them on a later flight.

Reports said Cebu Pacific did not press charges against the Jalang family, and even allowed them to board another flight bound for Zamboanga on Thursday morning.

Madonna is planning to adopt a second child from Malawi, officials said Thursday, but questions have already been raised over whether the newly divorced pop star will face obstacles because of her single mom status.